Mario Vitanelli is a writer and blogger who specializes in international politics and finance, retirement and investment for www.iexpats.com. His areas of expertise include European, Asian and the Med region’s economic policy; SIPP schemes and QROPS. When away from his keyboard, he enjoys photography and appreciates the rest of the Vitanelli family’s endless patience with his football dependence.
To start this thing off, here are a couple of depressing facts for you! According to recent polls, the UK officially rated the second worst place to live in Europe, behind Greece. That’s the second lowest aggregate quality of life on (or near) the continent. (Although I don’t buy it- worse than Denmark?! Lars Von Trier is from there. They’re trying to say that Lars Von Trier is from a place that handily outranks Blighty for quality of life? Unlikely.) Presumably as a result of this national discontent, according to the same poll, roughly one in eight Brits expressed a wish to live elsewhere.
If you’re among these discontented souls, pining for a shinier life elsewhere, and that pining is serious enough to warrant action, what are your realistic options for an alternative habitat? Obviously Denmark is out of the question; and Spain, France and the States have been done to the point that they’re just passé.
OK, what’s the best place to live? According to the United Nations, the country with the highest quality of life according to the “human development” rating is… Norway. That’s not exactly a shocker to the international community either- Norway’s won the top slot in the Human Development Rating from 2001-2006 and 2010-2013. So how great is the Scandinavian utopia? Well, that’s what we’re here to find out. Norway’s pros and cons will be analyzed below and in deference to my own specialty (and the popularity of expatriating with pensioners), their monetary standard of living will include the quality of QROPS (Qualified Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme). So read on, future expatriates.
Norway
Perks: Beyond apparently being the best place in the world to live if you’re a human being, there’s the beautiful scenery and natural- majestic fjords, clean and clear glacial lakes, fast-running streams, verdant woodlands, awe-inspiring bluffs below which lay beautiful meadows teeming with wildlife, etc.
Then there’s Norway’s national commitment to equality and dignity- they were the first independent country to legalize adopt women’s suffrage in 1913. You know how the women’s lib movement really blew up in the late 1960s and ‘70s? Well in Norway, women had to wait until ’84 to witness the totally bipartisan (5 prime ministers from both the Liberal and Conservative Party, plus governmental 166 other powerful politicians) formation of the Norwegian Association for Women’s Rights. 1884, that is.
They were pioneers in not only women’s rights but LGBT equality- they were the first country on Earth to pass an anti-discrimination law protecting gays and lesbians, the second country in the world (the UNIVERSE maybe) to legalise same-sex unions in 1993, 20 years ago! In 2009, they became the sixth nation to grant full marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples. In 1990, they were the first country to recognise the UN-endorsed ILO-Convention 169- the first international indigenous peoples protection convention.
Finally, they have a social safety net that’s virtually unrivaled in the world, protecting their citizens at virtually every stage of life. That cradle-to-the-grave protection does necessitate a high tax rate. However, the fact that Norway has the world’s fourth highest per-capita income, the third best social mobility in the world and is ranked by Forbes as the fourth richest country (a GDP ranking) probably takes the sting out a little bit. And from 2010-2012 (so far), Norway ranked first place on the Democracy Index. Not to mention their reputation for hosting some of the world’s most beautiful people.
Downsides: Well, there are the high taxes, which could probably be a burden if you aren’t lucky enough to be among the middle-class, well-off and/or socially mobile. Perhaps the chief drawback though, the one that must keep everyone familiar with this information from zipping of to Norway in an instant, is the country’s sun and snow. Close as they are to the Arctic Circle, from late May to late July the more northerly portions of Norway never see the sun set at all. In southernmost Norway during those summer months, there are 20 or more hours of sunlight a day. Although that sounds more palatable than the converse stretch between late November and late January when the sun doesn’t rise at all in the North and only for a few hours in the south. Plus there’s snow, and lots of it.
QROPS: Not to keep harping on this thing but Norway does have high taxes. However, with the right QROPS package, pensioners living and/or working in Norway can benefit from Norway’s policy of applying no tax at all to pension income. It also guarantees that any remaining pension funds are inherited by family. However, the size of one’s pension and other combined savings should definitely be considered as the cost of living in Norway can be as much as 40-60% greater than the cost of living in the UK. Obviously, all QROPS choices should be looked into with a professional, like those at iExpats.com, and if a Norwegian package doesn’t appeal, there are always opportunities to invest elsewhere (Malta, Guernsey, etc.) while living the good life in Scandinavia.
